1. Field of Use
The present invention relates to aerial buckets. Aerial buckets are elevated work platforms. They are also referred to as aerial baskets or cherry pickers. They are well established in the art and are useful for tree trimming, fruit picking, maintaining and installing utility lines and for any other purpose where a worker must be elevated. Aerial buckets are usually attached to a boom which in turn is mounted on the back of a truck.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Concern for worker safety and efficiency has prompted manufacturers to introduce improvements and additions to the basic bucket design. For example, some aerial buckets are made of a dielectric material to prevent electrocution of the worker if the bucket should accidentally contact a live electric line. Dielectric bucket liners have been added to decrease the chance of electric shock even further. Some buckets and bucket liners have an inner step to facilitate exiting of the bucket. U.S. Pat. No. 3,404,751 discloses and Plastic Techniques, Inc. of Goffstown, N.H. builds bucket liners with a molded step to facilitate egress from aerial buckets. Such designs, however, do not take into account the ergonomic needs of the worker while the worker is performing the work.
It is well known in the art that a worker can reduce lower back strain by resting one foot in front of the other on a raised surface. Buckets and liners have been designed with such a raised surface as an integral part of the bucket or liner. U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,145 discloses an ergonomic aerial bucket in which the floor of the aerial bucket is surround by a raised platform adapted to receive one foot of a worker. However, such a raised platform, being in a fixed position, do not provide for adjustment by the worker, so that the worker can choose the most advantageous position for the job at hand. In addition, such designs do not address the problem of retrofitting a bucket or liner that does not have such a step.
To address the retrofitting problem, advertising by Plastic Composites Corporation of Fort Wayne, Ind. (PCC) discloses an insertable ergonomic support. The PCC device allows a worker to lean his thighs against it and does not provide support for one foot to be raised above the other. Instead both feet rest at the same level on the floor of the aerial bucket. U.S. Pat. No. 3,404,751, an Aerial Bucket Step, also discloses a demountable step, however its sole purpose is to facilitate egress from the aerial bucket. In addition, these two devices are limited to providing support only at the walls of the bucket. Support elsewhere in the bucket, for example at the center of the bucket, is not available.
All of the above described improvements and additions are further limited in that they provide at most one level on which a worker can place a foot higher than the other. However, workers are of differing heights, have differing musculature and orthopedic problems. Different tasks require different positions for the worker and the bucket, and only the worker on the job can know which task he or she will be performing from moment to moment. Thus maximum efficiency and safety may best be achieved by providing foot-receiving surfaces at varying heights and locations within the bucket, allowing the worker to choose, from moment to moment, where to place his or her raised foot.
Some embodiments of the present invention include the use of a palette board. Palette boards are well known in the transportation industry. Their prior art use is as a platform for stacking and moving merchandise with a fork lift. Prior to the present invention, the use of palette boards as ergonomic inserts for aerial buckets has not been suggested.
In order to satisfy the foregoing needs, it is an object of the present invention to provide an aerial bucket insert which provides a plurality of heights and horizontal locations for foot receiving surfaces.
It is a further object of the present invention to make it easy to place into and remove from an aerial bucket the ergonomic insert of the present invention.
A further object of the present invention is to use the walls of the bucket to provide support and stability for the insert.
A further object of the present invention is to provide for the insert to take up a small amount of floor space so that the worker is able to move within the bucket with relative freedom.
A further object of the present invention is to provide for the insert to be light enough so that the worker may change its position from within the bucket, thus providing maximum convenience and choice to the worker.
A further object of the present invention is to facilitate egress from the aerial bucket.
To meet the objects of the present invention, an ergonomic insert designed for use within an aerial bucket is disclosed. A combination of an ergonomic insert, an aerial bucket and means for stabilizing said ergonomic insert within the aerial bucket is also disclosed. Finally, a method for using an ergonomic insert is disclosed. The ergonomic insert of the present invention provides at least one foot receiving surface for a worker to place a foot above and in front of the other in order to reduce the risk of lower back injury.
Features of the present invention include at least one sheet of material capable of bearing a worker""s weight. Additionally, the ergonomic insert slides into the aerial bucket from above and is then supported in position by alternative means within the aerial bucket or bucket liner. The foot receiving surfaces are formed in suitable shapes and sizes to allow the worker""s foot to rest comfortably on the exposed surface of the insert within the hole. The term xe2x80x9cfootrestxe2x80x9d as used herein is meant to include all foot-receiving surfaces.
When there are a plurality of footrests, they may be placed at various heights and, from the worker""s perspective, on the left and right sides of the insert to allow the worker the maximum freedom of choice. The height of the ergonomic insert of the present invention may allow the worker to easily step over the insert so he can work on either side of it. Finally, the ergonomic insert of the present invention provides easier egress from said bucket by providing a foot-receiving surface so that worker can use his legs to climb out of the aerial bucket.